Reviews

What a disappointment. They tell me Sondheim was involved in the making of this mess and I don't believe it. Not for one second. I think they held out a butt load of money, he grabbed it, ran for his life and took James Lapine with him. ITW needs a certain energy and pacing in order to work. This film has neither, despite the heroic efforts of Streep and Blunt. In fact, the movie would have been better if those two had played all the roles. The opening number had some glimpses of the wondrous glory that it should have been, but it never climaxed leading seamlessly to the rest of the story. (What was the story?) It petered out and was followed by tuneless wailing delivered by characters who never quite seemed to be in the same film. It was a good (not really) hour too long. The most beautiful and memorable songs in the original were dumped for some reason. Anna Kendrick needs an orthodontist if she is to play Disney princesses. None of the other characters were memorable at all. And when one of those characters is played by Tracey Ullman, there's a problem. There was not one laugh or even a chuckle from my fellow audience members. Everyone sort of shuffled out as though they had just seen The Sorrow and the Pity. Did I mention disappointing? This coupled with the abomination that was Annie ought to ensure the death of the movie musical for some time to come.

I know there are poor, ignorant, trashy people in the world. I try to avoid them. This film makes that impossible. One can only hope they have not reproduced again. When Republicans talk about ending entitlement programs, it is this family they have in their mind's eye. No one has a job or even pretends to be looking for a job. They all live off the government. Their chief past time appears to be smoking. It certainly isn't cleaning. On the positive side, it's not often you see a film that includes so many dysfunctions in one family. Child molesting, wife beating, and promiscuity are the highlights. This family wallows in self-pity and makes no attempt to get out of their dire circumstances.

I literally fell asleep twice. Although I like the book, this movie just has no spirit or heart. The circus scenes could and should have been spectacular to contrast between the life behind the scenes. Reese Witherspoon phoned this one in. Christoph Waltz is always good. Pattinson - meh. It was gloomy and depressing and nothing ever happened until the end. No chemistry between the star-crossed lovers. If you want a nap, watch this. Additionally I have to write more so that there will be ten lines of text. Even though I have pretty much said everything that I wanted to say. So as soon as I finish this sentence, it should...there we go.